Anti-Spy strategy

“

That's what my daddy taught me to do to backstabbers. Click to listen — The Engineer

”

The Spy is a cunning espionage agent bent on deceiving and frustrating your team. He will use his Cloak and disguises to maneuver behind friendly lines, then use his signature backstab technique to instantly kill any target in one strike. The best defense against a Spy is observation; he only has so many ways to infiltrate your team, so experienced players can usually identify when the situation feels suspicious. When caught, most Spies will try and escape rather than engage in a fight because of their weak offense. Keep in mind the Spy has many methods of deception, including the ability to fake his own death. The Pyro, with his flames, is generally considered the best defense against the Spy.

General

Attributes	Anti-Spy strategy
Role	The Spy will try to sneak behind your team using his various disguises and his Invis Watch. It's best to Spy check often. A disguised Spy can't act like your teammates perfectly. For example, he can't attack without losing his disguise and cannot walk through enemies.
Health	The Spy is quite frail, with only 125 health points. Once he is spotted, he should not be difficult to kill. However, he may fake his death using the Dead Ringer, turning him invisible, reducing the damage he takes, and giving him a speed boost to escape.
Speed	The Spy moves at the speed of the class that they are disguised as, with the exception of Scout. A Scout moving abnormally slowly is a dead ringer for an enemy Spy.
Power	In direct combat, the Spy's weapons are weak. He can see the health of enemy players, however, allowing him to better decide which of your teammates are worth picking off. If the Spy passes by undetected, he can kill players instantly with a backstab.

Weapon-specific

Main article: Spy weapons

Secondary weapons

Weapon	Anti-Spy strategy
Revolver + reskins	The Revolver fires quickly and accurately; make yourself a more difficult target by strafing from side to side. Most weapons outdamage the Revolver at close range. Keep attacking, while dodging his shots. A Spy firing his revolver is likely planning to escape. If he suddenly cloaks, try to track him down and kill him.
Ambassador + reskins	In direct combat, a Spy with the Ambassador will aim for your head. Make erratic movements to avoid being headshot. Crouch and jump to throw off his aim. The Ambassador is weaker than the Revolver in a firefight. Additionally, there is a cooldown after each shot where it cannot headshot at all. Spy check teammates that may be looking at your head.
L'Etranger	A Spy using the L'Etranger gains 40% additional Cloaking and can attack to refill his Cloak meter, making him particularly elusive. Once you find a Spy, light him on fire or douse him in Jarate or Mad Milk to render cloaking useless.
Enforcer	The Enforcer deals bonus damage when breaking disguise, but fires 20% slower. If you survive the first shot, counterattacking should be easier. The Enforcer ignores damage resistances. If you rely on items that grant resistances to survive, such as the Vaccinator, try to dodge his attacks - you’ll take more damage. However, the Enforcer cannot take advantage of damage vulnerabilities. If you are wielding weapons such as the Pain Train, remember that you will take less damage than you would otherwise. As a Razorback Sniper, check your back often. The Enforcer can kill you in two shots - often faster than you can unscope and counterattack.
Diamondback	The Diamondback stores critical hits as the Spy successfully backstabs teammates or saps buildings. Successfully thwarting his attempts to do so will leave him with an inferior weapon. As an Engineer, make sure to prevent Spies from destroying friendly buildings. This will prevent him from gaining easy crits, forcing him to risk his life by attempting to backstab your team. As a Pyro, equip the Homewrecker to remove Sappers from friendly buildings. Stay alert for the Spy, however - he may have recently backstabbed the Engineer and have a crit ready.

Melee weapons

Weapon	Anti-Spy strategy
Knife + reskins	If you hear nearby teammates scream or notice them dying to backstabs on the kill feed, turn around immediately to avoid being the next victim of a Spy ambush. The Knife does less damage than most other classes' melee weapons. Once the Spy has lost the element of surprise, he will either begin to fight with his Revolver or try to flee by cloaking. Keep an eye on the Spy when fighting him at close range; he may try to trick you into showing your back by moving erratically.
Your Eternal Reward + reskins	Your Eternal Reward allows the Spy to instantly disguise as his victim, with no death notice given in the kill feed and no attack noise. If you die, tell your team! Other than standard anti-Spy measures, watch your back when traveling in a group. If left undetected, a single Your Eternal Reward Spy can singlehandedly stop your entire team’s push or destroy its defenses. Your Eternal Reward makes Spy's cloak devices drain faster and consumes a full cloak meter to disguise manually, forcing him to rely on his disguise rather than his cloak. Spy-check suspected teammates often.
Conniver's Kunai	The Conniver's Kunai reduces the Spy's base health to 70 HP. If he has not backstabbed an enemy yet, kill him before he can heal himself. Spy-check a teammate who is suspiciously overhealed, especially if there is no friendly Medic nearby.
Big Earner	The Big Earner grants the Spy a Cloak refill and speed boost upon successful backstab, making his escape much easier. This weapon reduces his health to 100 HP - kill him quickly before he can escape.
Spy-cicle	Look out for ice statues - this a clear sign that the Spy has backstabbed your teammates. If your teammates’ statues are still standing upright, the Spy killed them less than ten seconds ago - spy-check nearby teammates! A friendly Pyro can use fire to temporarily melt the Spy-cicle. Upon doing so, you can hear a loud extinguishing sound that identifies the Spy, and prevents him from backstabbing you for up to 15 seconds.

Disguise Kit

Weapon	Anti-Spy strategy
Disguise Kit	Walk into your teammates; if you cannot pass through one, he is an enemy Spy in disguise. Occasionally attack your teammates, preferably with fire, Jarate, or weapons that cause bleed damage; disguised enemy Spies will still be hurt. For more info, see Spy checking.

Invis Watches

Main article: Cloak

• Cloaked Spies can be revealed if they are doused, lit, or bleeding. Try using Jarate, Mad Milk, fire, and weapons that cause bleeding in areas where you suspect a Spy is hiding.
  • Emerging from water also compromises a Spy's invisibility, as water particles will drip off him for a few seconds.
• While cloaked, debuffs such as Jarate, fire, bleeding, and Mad Milk will be cured twice as quickly. Try to hunt down debuffed Spies quickly before the effect wears off.
• Spies can pick up health and ammo even while cloaked. If health kits and ammo boxes are disappearing for no apparent reason, there is a cloaked Spy nearby.
• Disguised Spies can receive health and ammo from enemy Dispensers, even while they are cloaked. Occasionally Spy-check around Dispensers, and check for healing beams attached to thin air.
• The Invisibility Watch and the Cloak and Dagger will show a silhouette of a cloaked Spy if he bumps into an enemy; if a Spy's silhouette is revealed, press against him and attack to keep him visible.
• If you hear a crunching sound but do not see anyone, or see blood particles appearing from nowhere, it might be a cloaked enemy Spy taking fall damage.
• If you hear voice responses near you from an unknown source, check the area around you for invisible Spies trying to confuse you.
• Spies make a fairly loud, distinct noise when they uncloak. If you are not in battle you may even hear their footsteps while they run across hard surfaces such as metal platforms.
• If you see a Spy cloak, die at high health, or otherwise escape your sight, alert your team and tell them exactly where they are.

Weapon	Anti-Spy strategy
Invis Watch + reskins	If a Spy tries to flee with the Invisibility Watch, grab surrounding ammunition boxes and dropped ammo packs from fallen players to prevent him from regaining cloak time, and thus shortening the distance he can run before his Cloak deactivates. If you see ammo boxes disappear without reason, consider Spy-checking the area. Alternatively, instead of grabbing ammo boxes, watch them carefully and attack their location if they disappear, as you may catch the Spy red-handed trying to replenish cloak.
Cloak and Dagger	Spies using the Cloak and Dagger will often wait in corners or secluded areas to recharge their Cloak. Check commonly trafficked areas, or play a few hours as Spy and memorize the places you tended to recharge your cloak. Many Spies will often use the same spots. A Spy may also choose to hide above high-traffic areas, then drop down behind passing enemies and Backstab them. Always remain alert - Spies can hide nearly anywhere. The Cloak and Dagger cannot pick up ammo to replenish its cloak meter while cloaked; while this limits the distance he can travel, it can also make it harder for you to notice a Spy's presence. Decloaking with the Cloak and Dagger makes a louder sound than the Invis Watch does. Listen closely for a Spy trying to backstab you!
Dead Ringer	When activated, the Dead Ringer gives the Spy a massive damage resistance, as well as curing fire and bleeding. Try to isolate and/or continuously inflict damage on him until his Cloak deactivates or he dies. Jarate and Mad Milk are not cured even if a Spy feigns death. Try to inflict one of these effects on a Spy before he activates his Dead Ringer. The Dead Ringer can only be activated when it's fully charged. When a Spy wielding the Dead Ringer uncloaks, he'll have between 0% to 40% charge remaining. Finish him off as quickly as you can, making sure he doesn't backstab anyone with the Big Earner or shoot them with L'Etranger - this will recharge his cloak. If you are fighting a Spy and he suddenly stops attacking, he is probably waiting for you to trigger his Dead Ringer. If you don't have the time or opportunity to simply wait until he attacks again, (have nearby teammates) prepare a way to reveal the Spy when he cloaks. If a Spy dies in a single weak hit, he is probably using the Dead Ringer. The Dead Ringer can replicate or fake many in-game mechanics, but not all. For more information, see the "Feign death effects" section of the Dead Ringer article. The Dead Ringer's cloak meter cannot be refilled by picking up ammo boxes. Spies will often retreat for a few seconds after they trigger a feign death. When decloaking, the Dead Ringer emits a very distinctive sound. If you hear it, look for a decloaking Spy immediately!

Buildings

• Keep special notice of your team's Teleporters. Left unguarded, a Spy can place a Sapper on one end and continue to replace those that are removed by the other end, eventually sapping more health than what an Engineer can repair and destroying one or both sides; this can prevent your team from reaching the front lines as quickly.
• Pyros with the Homewrecker equipped are a great counter against Sappers; it only takes one strike to dislodge the device from a building, compared to the two strikes required by an Engineer's Wrench or Neon Annihilator, or three from the Jag.
• Spies may put a Sapper on a teleporter entrance and take it as soon as the Engineer removes it. If you remove a Sapper from your teleporter exit, be careful not to stand on top of it - the Spy may attempt to Telefrag you.
• When Spies place a Sapper on a building, even in disguise, they will play a custom animation where the Spy or "teammate" places the Sapper onto the building. Keep an eye out for this if someone is sapping your team's buildings, as it can help you quickly figure out which teammate is the Spy.
• Spies will often sap a building and then shoot it repeatedly to destroy it faster. Stay close to your buildings to prevent this.

Weapon	Anti-Spy strategy
Sapper + reskins	A Spy can replace any Sappers removed from the target building(s) faster than and Engineer can remove the Sapper and repair the building; locate the Spy (who is most likely in disguise) and kill him before removing his Sapper(s). An Engineer who needs to leave his buildings should have another Engineer or a Pyro guard them while he is away.
Red-Tape Recorder	The Red-Tape Recorder's ability to reverse a building's upgrades can leave many Engineers' creations vulnerable to destruction, and can damage (but rarely destroy) a team's defenses within seconds. Make haste in killing the offending Spy (or Spies) and restoring all affected buildings to their former efficiency. The Red-Tape Recorder does take a while to work. Instead of destroying the building immediately, it downgrades it and eventually destroys it. This is used when a Spy wants to soften up the enemy's defenses when preparing for his team to push in.

Telling Them Apart

See Spychecking for more strategies.

• Disguised Spies cannot enter your spawn area, so watch suspected teammates passing the door. If the door doesn't open or they cannot enter, they are most likely a Spy.
• Disguised Spies cannot fire the weapon they appear to be wielding. However, they can still pretend to reload that weapon - though most Spies will not bother to do this.
• Enemy Spies will not be hurt by their teammates but they can be hurt by your team. A stray bullet or explosion may reveal a cloaked Spy.

• A Spy’s disguise will sometimes glitch and display the wrong weapon for the class he is disguised as, such as an Engineer holding a Revolver.
  • Certain cosmetic items may also make his disguise glitch and not display part of the character’s model. For example, a Demoman disguise may fail to display its legs.
  • Conflicting items such as the SMG and the Razorback may be applied at the same time on disguised Spies.

• Enemy Spies can't pass through you as teammates can. If you bump into a teammate and can't pass through them, then they are a Spy.

See also

• Spychecking
• Team strategy